Went to expensive gyno today... (long)

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-08-2007
Went to expensive gyno today... (long)
5
Thu, 03-20-2008 - 1:18am

Went to this private practice OB-Gyn today that charged me $200 upfront just to see him. I think it was money well-spent, though, 'cause he did an intravag. ultrasound and I think we're finally getting somewhere as far as what's causing my multiple ovarian cysts (one in my right ovary was 3 x 5 cm. (about 1.5" x 2") last week and ruptured, putting me in the hospital and causing a lot of pain for a few days). He had a tech. start the u/s and I was watching on a huge flatscreen tv (HD quality--I could tell why he charged so much!) I could tell from the ultrasound that my cervix/uterus looked great, right ovary looked good, then she moved to the left, and the color drained from my face. I could see right away (and could see on the tech.'s face too as she took lots of pictures) that something was eerie about this ovary. It was HUGE (about 2-3 times as big as the right ovary) and it had what looked like one big, multilayered, semi-solid cyst in it, and was oddly-shaped (like, bulging and uneven, whereas the other one was a pretty little circle). I thought to myself, "Either this ovary has a freakin weird cyst going on, or I've got cancer or something." The doc came in soon after that and looked at the pictures, then took over the wand with a weird look on his face. He didn't say much except, "hmm." He confirmed, that, yes, it's a complex cyst, yes, it's got semi-solid material in it, but that, no, I probably don't have anything to be worried about, at least not until I've been on the contraceptive for a few cycles and it still hasn't gone away. So, he put me on the Nuvaring and I have to come back in 9 weeks for a follow-up u/s. If it gets larger or stays after that, it's back to the O.R. for a laparoscopy (possibly a laparotomy) to have it taken out and biopsied. Keep in mind that this was 5 minutes after he had told me in his office that I was "getting all excited" about these cysts, downplaying the persistence of them through the last few months, saying I was "over-reacting". I think something freaked him out a little bit.
Has anyone had these "complex cysts"? What ARE they and what's happening to me? I'm just a little concerned b/c my grandmother died of ovarian cancer at 45 with no history of smoking or any other risk factors, and I've had just weird symptoms the last few months. I've lost 15 pounds I didn't need to lose at all (115 to 100 lb.) and my lower abdomen hurts sometimes, like a vague crampy feeling. I'm tired all the time, but oddly enough, can't sleep. It's like a hormonal roller-coaster all month long while I wait to start having my period but never do so at the right time and am in AGONY when one of these stupid cysts ruptures, and have to take lortab just to make the pain not so bad. And I don't even think about having sex anymore, it hurts too bad.
If anyone has any info, it would be greatly appreciated.

Sorry so long,
Sheree

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-15-2007
Mon, 03-24-2008 - 7:44pm
If your ovarian cyst has any kind of calcifications in it or solid masses, those don't go away on their own.
iVillage Member
Registered: 06-08-2007
Tue, 03-25-2008 - 1:27pm
He didn't say "calcifications", but he said it had solid areas to it and that it was "like a cyst within a cyst" and called it a "complex cyst". I'm not sure what kind of cyst it is at this point, but what me and the doc DO know is that it's been growing steadily for almost 4 months. The cyst was originally found incidentally during a CT at the ER in January for a kidney stone, but I've had several "functional" ovarian cysts in the last few years. They usually only hurt when they rupture or during my menses, but this one is very different. It feels like a pulling pain (if that makes any sense) about 3 inches to the right of my left hipbone. Most of the time, it's just a vague pulling sensation, but if I lift anything heavy, bend over, etc. it turns more into a gnawing pain that is more severe than the usual cysts. I've already had one laparoscopy for recurrent ovarian cysts, dysmenorrhea (painful periods), and menorrhagia (heavy periods) to check for endometriosis and to remove any cysts found. They found nothing except a lot of fluid from a cyst that had ruptured right before the surgery. He said it had the quality of "wesson oil" (googled it and the only kind of cyst I could find that had an "oily" quality was a dermoid cyst). So I think it's pretty safe to assume at this point that although this cyst is painful and will probably need a laparoscopy to remove it, it's probably not cancer.
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-15-2007
Tue, 03-25-2008 - 3:40pm
Yeah less than 2% of ovarian cysts are cancerous.
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-23-2004
Thu, 03-27-2008 - 7:18pm

Sheree, sorry for the delay in getting a response to you.


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iVillage Member
Registered: 06-08-2007
Thu, 03-27-2008 - 10:35pm
Thank you for your response. I think I'm ovulating (again), so my hormones are all over the place. I'm thinking that it's probably a dermoid cyst, from the evidence I've been given. Laps suck, but a twisted ovary sounds pretty painful, so I think I'll make sure that the doc knows that my last one that was this painful was probably a dermoid cyst, and that most complex cysts need to be removed surgically. I hope he listens to me.